Course summary

Interested in the “next big thing in healthcare”? The increasingly developing field of Population Health is a great career choice for those who wish to be at the forefront of healthcare advancement. Put simply, Population Health is concerned with the wide range of factors that can determine the health and the health outcomes of individuals, groups and populations. The growing pressures on healthcare systems globally are well documented, with chronic diseases, ageing populations and increased incidents of mental health. Advancements in medicine are improving health for more and more people, but inequalities in the healthcare received by people based on where they are born, live and work are prevalent. Population health aims to address these inequalities, by working to better understand the healthcare needs of groups of people, improving healthcare models and providing innovative solutions to meet people’s health needs. This degree will give you a solid grounding in medical and life sciences, social sciences, epidemiology, demography, public health, and health informatics. You will also develop the academic and professional knowledge needed to determine systematic variations in the health of individuals and populations, as well as the skills and experience to apply this knowledge to practical solutions to improve health, wellbeing, and the delivery of health services. Our BSc Population Health and Medical Sciences programme is unique as it brings together a diverse range of subjects to provide you with a holistic understanding of the social, economic, medical and demographic factors that shape population health; from prevention and promotion, to health protection, diagnosis, treatment and care. With your studies crossing over a number of disciplines, you will benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities at the Medical School and also the dynamic research and learning environment. This degree is part of our ‘Medical Science in Practice’ Pathway to Medicine programme. Provided you meet the minimum entry requirements for Graduate Entry Medicine, and have successfully completed the Pathway, you will be guaranteed an interview for our flagship Graduate Entry Medicine MBBCh course. Our academic staff across medical, health and social sciences are active in a diverse range of research fields, offering an unrivalled mix of academic excellence and innovative practice. For example, Swansea University Medical School is home to the National Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research which aims to make Wales a world leader in population health science. Students will have direct access to this innovative, world leading research which is embedded into the taught modules on this programme. We have an outstanding reputation for Medicine at Swansea and are ranked 5th in the UK for Medicine according to the Times Good University Guide 2024.